July 9, 2007
Evan Almighty (2007)
Should I see it?
Nope.
Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) begins his new position as a Senator. After moving his family into a posh development he gets visited by God (Morgan Freeman). God asks him to build an ark and to warn the world of an impending flood. The remainder of the piece focuses on Evan building his ark while also deciding if he should sign piece of environmental legislation being pushed by the senior senator from his state (John Goodman). Evan begins to take on the physical appearance of Noah while animals begin to swarm around him and his ark.
This is simply a bad movie.
This is the costliest comedy ever made with a budget upwards to $175,000,000.00. This proves that all of the money in the world can’t fix bad ideas. This piece is poorly written, poorly constructed and poorly directed. Even as a simple distraction, a cinematic bauble, it fails to please. I’ve seen screen savers with more narrative punch than this tone-deaf waste.
The premises are interesting but left relatively untouched. Instead of playing off of the comedy that is inherent in a materialist being confronted by God, the film delves into poop humor and groin shots. Its not that I’m completely against a good, solid groin shot gag or a poop joke for that matter. These things do have their places. In this instance however, its just too much salt for the soup. Furthermore, they make strange decisions such as Evan taking on the physical appearance of Noah as he continues to work on the ark. There’s no reason given for this transformation and it comes across as a forced gag that doesn't resonate. It’s a hollow joke which doesn’t play – in other words it matches the rest of the piece.
Worldview: The central question posed is how one can find happiness. In the beginning, Evan is consumed by his position and material goods (including his looks). Under the gentle coaxing by God, Evan reconnects with his family and nature and finds real happiness.
This overarching concept is then buttressed by an environmental subplot involving Evan signing a piece of legislation that would open portions of the national parks to developers. All of this is handled with some caution until the final act.
***SPOILER WARNING - the ending is given here***
In the end, the ark is built just as a damn breaks and floods the valley where Evan lives. The ark is then shuttled by the flood to a balcony of the Senate where the questionable bill is about to be signed. God allows the flood to occur to stop bad law making. It is important to note the flood is not one of vengeance but one made by man. This of course then puts the question of how far does our free will extend into play.
Jesus is not present in this piece nor is he referenced. Given the story and how it is expressed, this is not a “Christian” movie. This is more of a “Jewish” one. There are Biblical elements at play but they are not fully realized and come across as concessions more than lessons. This is a “spiritual” film, meaning it wants to appear Biblical without the commitment.
This film has caused quite a stink in Christian circles because of the presence of God (Morgan Freeman) on screen. Many have quickly dismissed this film based on the low brow humor of its predecessor Bruce Almighty. Others have claimed this piece runs afoul of the Second Commandment:
Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
While having Morgan Freeman on screen portraying God in a dumb comedy may make some uncomfortable, I don’t believe it breaks the law. We are not asked to worship this image. While he imparts wisdom not spoken by God, we understand he is Morgan Freeman and not actually the real deal.
Another concern is the revisiting of God being involved in a flood when he promised not produce another one. In the context of this film he doesn’t make the flood, we do through our actions. Problem solved.
Cautions: Given their lack of depth combined with their need to be completely family friendly, the filmmakers go wall-to-wall poop jokes in this film. Why is it that family films always have to have poop and fart jokes these days? This goes hand in hand with the sexual innuendos that most family fare now has to contain in order to amuse the adults. While this film avoids sexual humor, you will gag on all of the feces gags.
The language is tame and there isn’t a butt or nipple to be found. This film is safe for all ages but certainly not all sets of I.Q.s, Children will probably become bored, as will the adults, with the long spans of needless talking (without being funny).
Other Movie Reviews:
Hollywood Jesus
FilmJerk
More Steve Carrell Movies:
The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Labels: comedy, Evan Almighty, family film, Morgan Freeman, movie review, Steve Carell
posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 7:33 AM
Share
Previous Posts
Friends & Reads
Christian & Culture
Film Resources
Christian Sites
Faithcom
Featured On
Good News Film Reviews LLC 2004-2010 - used with permission
Images, video and titles are the property of their respective copyright holders. Good News Film Reviews LLC claims no ownership or connection to them.
The views expressed on this site are not the opinion of any advertiser or external entity.
While we take care to only link to responsible entities, Good News Film Reviews LLC takes no responsibility for the content linked from this site. There are sharks in the waters. Surf at your own risk.
The Template is generated via PsycHo and is Licensed.
2 Comments:
I would have suspected that the primary reason for the flood is our irresponsible treatment of the earth.
"This is a “spiritual” film, meaning it wants to appear Biblical without the commitment."
It's interesting that when Ben Hur was made there was an intentional downplaying of the subject matter "A Tale of the Christ". Appearing biblical without conveying the the original author of Ben Hur's intent.
Anyway, as I read your review it makes me wonder why in the earth any Christian organization/reveiwer would endorse the film. Forget the controversy, it sounds like a bad movie.
Remember that most films based on the Bible, including the ones that any Christian would cite off the top of their head, Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, etc all take liberty with scripture to get the Word to fit within the confines of a movie format.
I don't know why any critic would support this film. It is simply a bad movie. Looking at the film through a Christian lens, there's nothing to see here. It is a relatively harmless flick that is just horribly made. The problem here, in my estimation, is that the filmmakers were unable to commit to the subject of the film.
Post a Comment
<< Home